Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-22
PURE WINE.
WetmOre Does Not Relax
His Efforts.
VERY VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS.
A Bill Proposed Which Will Re Of
Great Benefit to Our Wit
'iculturists.

Special TO the Herald BY the Asseciosed Prssss.
SAN FRANCISCO, January ola
meeting of the committee appointed by
President Wetmore of the National
Vlticultural Association to advise him
as regards the proposed amendments to
the Green bill, desired by California IN
the interest of her grape industries,
was held this afternoon. Mr.. Doyle
opened the discussion and urged that it
was much easier to amend the existing
law and to make it conform with what Il
was originally intended it should be.
than to adopt new law which would
involve the collection of new tax. Az
he understood it the existing law was in
tended to impose tax on all bogus and
imitation wines. That law has. how
ever, proven inefficient and inoperat We
because of its faulty and bungling
expression and because in order to show
the commodity to be taxable, the Com
missioner would have to be able TO
prove -st how it is made. Mr.. Doyls
proposed that the committee should re-
port an amendment to make the Law
read on all beverages designated or sold
as wine not made from grape Juice and
prepared in accordance with methods
recognized as legitimate in standard pub
lished works on the subject, There
shall be levied, etc. There was soms
discussion as to the advisibility of pro-
viding in the proposed amendment for
wines, made of blackberries aud other
fruit, and Mr.. Doyle proposed an ad-
denda to the amendment
as follows: Crowded that
beverages made from other fruits or
berries iu accordance with approved
methods sh all be exempt from tax when
labeled, branded or designated with the
name of the fruit from which the came
are made"
MIR. Estee was very desirous of having
incorporated in the national law some
expression defining pure wine to be .
liquid made of expressed juice of the
grape. The committee however was
favorable to the proposed amendment ~
above and expressed itself as quite satis-
fed if the amendment suggested 10 suc-
cessfully incorporated in the law.
A vote was taken and every one
expressed himself in favor of recon-
mending the amendment.
The committee appointed by the wine
growers to frame pure wine bill to be
introduced into the State Legislature,
has completed its work, and to-day Mr..
Doyle handed the draft of the measure
to Mr.. Estee, who will take charge of it
in Sacramento. 1t is entitled IA Bill
to prevent the sophistication and adul.
teration of pure wine" and defines pure
wine as 'the fermented juice of grapes"
Going into details of the definition,
| it says that dry wine is that
produced by fermentation of
grape juice only" while sweet or
fortified wine is "fermented grape Juice
to which spirits have been added" It
prohibits the introduction into wine or
must of any substance not product of
the grape except leaven or pure water.
To expose or offer to sell as wine any
thing that does not come under the
designation of the act is to be considered
unlawful and punishable by fine of
$l00, one-half OF the penalty tn go to
the informant and the other half to the
people of the State. Imported liquors
are not touched by the act, neither does
it forbid the sale of fruit beverages,
such as gooseberry, elder or currant
wine, when they are marked as such.
Lastly, the bill provides that the Con-
troller of the State is to furnish the
manufacturer or bother of wine with
stamps to be so affixed as to be efectu.
ally cancelled on the opening of the bot
ties, or barrels, and bearing the iufor-
nation that the package contains ''pure
wine." The use of such stamps or any
thing except the pure article comes mn
der the penal provision before mem
toned. 1t is Mr.. Estee's intention to
have the bill, if possible, introduced
cotemporaneously into the Senate and
Assembly during the next week.